Molecular examination of bone marrow stromal cells and chondroitinase ABC-assisted acellular nerve allograft for peripheral nerve regeneration

The present study aimed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying combinatorial bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) transplantation and chondroitinase ABC (Ch-ABC) therapy in a model of acellular nerve allograft (ANA) repair of the sciatic nerve gap in rats. Sprague Dawley rats (n=24) were used as nerve donors and Wistar rats (n=48) were randomly divided into the following groups: Group I, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) control group (ANA treated with DMEM only); Group II, Ch-ABC group (ANA treated with Ch-ABC only); Group III, BMSC group (ANA seeded with BMSCs only); Group IV, Ch-ABC + BMSCs group (Ch-ABC treated ANA then seeded with BMSCs). After 8 weeks, the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in the regenerated tissues were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Axonal regeneration, motor neuron protection and functional recovery were examined by immunohistochemistry, horseradish peroxidase retrograde neural tracing and electrophysiological and tibialis anterior muscle recovery analyses. It was observed that combination therapy enhances the growth response of the donor nerve locally as well as distally, at the level of the spinal cord motoneuron and the target muscle organ. This phenomenon is likely due to the propagation of retrograde and anterograde transport of growth signals sourced from the graft site. Collectively, growth improvement on the donor nerve, target muscle and motoneuron ultimately contribute to efficacious axonal regeneration and functional recovery. Thorough investigation of molecular peripheral nerve injury combinatorial strategies are required for the optimization of efficacious therapy and full functional recovery following ANA

Surgical interventions for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis: a systematic review with network meta-analysis

: Background : Several surgical options for degenerative lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) are available, but current guidelines do not recommend which one should be prioritized. Although previous network meta-analyses (NMAs) have been performed on this topic, they have major methodological problems and could not provide the convincing evidence and clinical practical information required. Methods: Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) comparing at least two surgical interventions were included by searching AMED, CINAHL, EMBASE, the Cochrane Library, and MEDLINE (inception to August 2023). A frequentist random-effects NMA was performed for physical function and adverse events due to any reason. For physical function, three follow-up time points were included: short-term (< 6 months post-intervention), mid-term (≥ 6 months but < 12 months), and long-term (≥ 12 months). Laminectomy was the reference comparison intervention. Results: A total of 43 RCTs involving 5017 participants were included in the systematic review and 28 RCTs encompassing 14 types of surgical interventions were included in the NMA. For improving physical function (scale 0–100), endoscopic-assisted laminotomy (mean difference: − 8.61, 95% confidence interval: − 10.52 to − 6.69; moderate-quality evidence), laminectomy combined with Coflex (− 8.41, − 13.21 to − 3.61; moderate quality evidence), and X-stop (− 6.65, − 8.60 to − 4.71; low-quality evidence) had small effects at short-term follow-up; no statistical difference was observed at mid-term follow-up (very low- to low-quality evidence); at long-term follow-up, endoscopic-assisted laminotomy (− 7.02, − 12.95 to − 1.08; very low-quality evidence) and X-stop (− 10.04, − 18.16 to − 1.93; very low-quality evidence) had a small and moderate effect, respectively. Compared with laminectomy, endoscopic-assisted laminotomy was associated with fewer adverse events due to any reason (odds ratio: 0.27, 0.09 to 0.86; low-quality evidence). Conclusions: For adults with degenerative LSS, endoscopic-assisted laminotomy may be the safest and most effective intervention in improving physical function. However, the available data were insufficient to indicate whether the effect was sustainable after 6 months. Trial registration: PROSPERO (CRD42018094180)

Near-Surface Oceanic Kinetic Energy Distributions From Drifter Observations and Numerical Models

The geographical variability, frequency content, and vertical structure of near-surface oceanic kinetic energy (KE) are important for air-sea interaction, marine ecosystems, operational oceanography, pollutant tracking, and interpreting remotely sensed velocity measurements. Here, KE in high-resolution global simulations (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model; HYCOM, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model; MITgcm), at the sea surface (0 m) and at 15 m, are compared with KE from undrogued and drogued surface drifters, respectively. Global maps and zonal averages are computed for low-frequency

COVID-19 reopening strategies at the county level in the face of uncertainty: Multiple Models for Outbreak Decision Support

Policymakers make decisions about COVID-19 management in the face of considerable uncertainty. We convened multiple modeling teams to evaluate reopening strategies for a mid- sized county in the United States, in a novel process designed to fully express scientific uncertainty while reducing linguistic uncertainty and cognitive biases. For the scenarios considered, the consensus from 17 distinct models was that a second outbreak will occur within 6 months of reopening, unless schools and non-essential workplaces remain closed. Up to half the population could be infected with full workplace reopening; non-essential business closures reduced median cumulative infections by 82%. Intermediate reopening interventions identified no win-win situations; there was a trade-off between public health outcomes and duration of workplace closures. Aggregate results captured twice the uncertainty of individual models, providing a more complete expression of risk for decision-making purposes.Integrative Biolog

Sustaining newcomers' career adaptability: The roles of socialization tactics, job embeddedness and career variety

In this study, we aim to examine how socialization practices predict newcomers' career adaptability during their organizational transitions. Drawing on career construction theory and conservation of resources theory, we argue that newcomers' job embeddedness, as predicted by their perceived organizational socialization tactics, positively predicts their career adaptability during career transitions. We investigate the role of past transition experiences (i.e., career variety) in moderating the relationship between job embeddedness and career adaptability. Data were collected at three time points from 492 newcomers in an information technology company in China. The newcomers' perceived organizational socialization tactics (i.e., training, future prospects and coworker support) positively predicted their job embeddedness, which was positively associated with their career adaptability. Additionally, career variety weakened the positive effect of job embeddedness on career adaptability. Furthermore, career variety moderated the indirect effects of future prospects and coworker support on career adaptability via job embeddedness, but not that of training. We conclude the article with discussions of our theoretical and practical contributions

Preliminary characterization of chemical and sensory attributes for grapes and wines of different cultivars from the Weibei Plateau region in China

Chemical and sensory attributes play a vital role in evaluating the quality of grapes and wines. This study compared basic physicochemical parameters, organic acids, phenolic compounds, and aroma profiles of grapes and wines of six cultivars using chemometrics. The results showed that the reducing sugar contents of Beibinghong, Gongniang, and Granoir grapes were significantly higher than those of others cultivars, whereas their juice yields were significantly lower. The phenolic compound contents in Moldova, Beibinghong, and Gongniang grape skins and wines were higher than those in others cultivars. The organic acid contents in Beibinghong grape and Dunkelfelder wine were highest. Beibinghong and Gongniang grapes and wines showed richer aldehyde and ester concentrations. Beibinghong wine obtained the highest sensory scores. Ethyl decanoate, coumaric acid, and methyl dodecanoate were characteristic variables distinguishing wine cultivars, exhibiting important contributions to their sensory characteristics. These findings were useful for viticulturists and winemakers to select grape varieties

Molecular examination of bone marrow stromal cells and chondroitinase ABC-assisted acellular nerve allograft for peripheral nerve regeneration

The present study aimed to evaluate the molecular mechanisms underlying combinatorial bone marrow stromal cell (BMSC) transplantation and chondroitinase ABC (Ch-ABC) therapy in a model of acellular nerve allograft (ANA) repair of the sciatic nerve gap in rats. Sprague Dawley rats (n=24) were used as nerve donors and Wistar rats (n=48) were randomly divided into the following groups: Group I, Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium (DMEM) control group (ANA treated with DMEM only); Group II, Ch-ABC group (ANA treated with Ch-ABC only); Group III, BMSC group (ANA seeded with BMSCs only); Group IV, Ch-ABC + BMSCs group (Ch-ABC treated ANA then seeded with BMSCs). After 8 weeks, the expression of nerve growth factor, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and vascular endothelial growth factor in the regenerated tissues were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and immunohistochemistry. Axonal regeneration, motor neuron protection and functional recovery were examined by immunohistochemistry, horseradish peroxidase retrograde neural tracing and electrophysiological and tibialis anterior muscle recovery analyses. It was observed that combination therapy enhances the growth response of the donor nerve locally as well as distally, at the level of the spinal cord motoneuron and the target muscle organ. This phenomenon is likely due to the propagation of retrograde and anterograde transport of growth signals sourced from the graft site. Collectively, growth improvement on the donor nerve, target muscle and motoneuron ultimately contribute to efficacious axonal regeneration and functional recovery. Thorough investigation of molecular peripheral nerve injury combinatorial strategies are required for the optimization of efficacious therapy and full functional recovery following ANA

Parents’ Career Values, Adaptability, Career-Specific Parenting Behaviors, and Undergraduates’ Career Adaptability

This study examined how Chinese parents’ career values and adaptability predict their career-specific parenting behaviors and their children’s career adaptability. We conducted a survey study with Chinese university students and their parents ( N = 264), and found support for the mediating roles of career-specific parenting behaviors in linking parents’ vocational characteristics and children’s career adaptability. Specifically, parental support is positively related to parents’ intrinsic fulfillment values, work–life balance values, and career adaptability. Moreover, parental support mediates the relationship between these variables and undergraduates’ career adaptability. Parental engagement mediates the negative effect of external compensation values and positive effect of work–life balance values on undergraduates’ career adaptability. Parental interference is negatively related to parents’ work–life balance values, and positively related to their external compensation values and career adaptability, but does not significantly predict undergraduates’ career adaptability. These findings advance current understanding of the career construction theory

Frequency dependence of ocean surface kinetic energy and its vertical structure from global high-resolution models and surface drifter observations

Surface oceanic kinetic energy is of interest for many reasons, and a greater understanding of the vertical structure of the kinetic energy would aid interpretation of ongoing and proposed remote sensing missions that are focused on velocity. In this work, kinetic energy (KE) at the sea surface (0 m) and 15 m depth in high-resolution global simulations (HYbrid Coordinate Ocean Model; HYCOM, and Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model; MITgcm) is compared with KE from undrogued and drogued drifters, which respectively represent flows at 0 and 15 m. Global maps and zonal averages are computed for four frequency bands—low-frequency (<0.5 cpd), near-inertial, diurnal, and semi-diurnal. In the near-inertial band, MITgcm KE is too low relative to drifters, while HYCOM KE lies closer to observations probably due to more frequently updated atmospheric forcing. In the semi-diurnal band, MITgcm KE is too high, while HYCOM KE lies closer to the drifters due primarily to the inclusion of a parameterized topographic internal wave drag. In both drifter and model results, semi-diurnal spectra display a weak dependence on background low-frequency KE, consistent with mesoscale eddy-induced internal tide non-stationarity. Drifter semi-diurnal spectra are inherently wider than model semi-diurnal spectra, due to Lagrangian sampling of spatially varying fields. Vertical structure is defined here by the ratio of zonally averaged KE in 0 m/15 m model results and undrogued/drogued drifter results. Over most latitudes and most frequency bands, the model ratios track the drifter ratio to within error bars. All of the frequency bands except for the semi-diurnal band display measurable vertical structure. Latitudinal dependence in the vertical structure is greatest in the diurnal and low-frequency bands